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Fossil interests plow money into Congress

Rich and thin is passé. What's hot now is rich and dirty.

Why is a smart energy and climate policy so elusive for this country? In three words -- money, money, money.

The nation's energy bill is now about a trillion dollars. That means the super-rich fossil fuel companies have enormous profits they can spend on lobbying to ensure their continued dominance. How much? Jeff Goodell has the answer here:

In the first quarter of 2008, Big Coal's new front group, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, spent a record-breaking $1.9 million in federal lobbying expenses. To put that in perspective, in the same period, the Solar Energies Industries Association spent all of $75,000 ...

Individual coal companies have been even more generous to our nation's cash-starved policymakers:

Say goodbye to the lungs of the earth

Amazon deforestation exploding. The agrofuels lobby assures us that it has nothing to do with them.

Energy prices

Conservatives want to terrify voters at the prospect of climate policy raising energy prices. Meanwhile: “Wealth Evaporates as Gas Prices Clobber McMansions.” How long will we stay on this sinking ship?

New mockumentary on climate science, dialogue, and societal change is opening soon

Filmmaker Randy Olson has just completed Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy, a hilarious new mockumentary thickly peopled with real life climate scientists, activists, skeptics, and a rollicking plot-line that could bring a lot more people into the global warming tent. I found it refreshing and a good follow-up to the Gore movie, because it's not so much about the scientists or the celebrities telling us why we should care. Instead, it's fun, watchable, and about real people and what they think about this issue.

Watch the trailer here. Tickets for the L.A. premiere go on sale next Monday.

Snippets from the news

• G8 nations vow to cut oil use. • Churchgoers grow less enamored with environmental regulation. • Farting livestock stymie New Zealand’s goal to be carbon neutral. • U.K. tries out waterless washing machine. • Dozens of dolphins stranded in both England and Madagascar. • World Naked Bike Ride was Saturday. • Celebs want to […]

McCain and Obama tout very different energy policies

While campaigning in different cities Monday, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama managed to trade plenty of jabs on energy policy. At a rally in Raleigh, N.C., Obama called for a tax on oil-company windfall profits and declared, “At a time … when we’re paying more than $4 a gallon for gas, [McCain] wants to […]

High oil prices are our lot until demand is destroyed, but no peak

Goldman Sachs analyst Arjun Murti predicted the recent spike in oil prices, so it's worth looking at his recent interview in Barron's:

Focusing population growth in the right places will make us both

The New York Times looks at the impact of high gas prices in communities across the nation today and concludes that increases are most painful in rural areas. Part of this analysis involves an examination of money spent on gas as a share of total income. The big middle of the country does badly, and […]

Commuting can drive you crazy — no, literally

Think your commute drives you crazy? Well, you might be right. In a culture so accustomed to being on-the-go, sitting immobile in traffic for hours each day can take a toll on mental health, researchers say. “If you’re stuck in traffic, there’s a feeling of being out of control,” says psychologist Laura Pinegar, who says […]

Drilling for fossil fuels and subsidizing nuclear power: McCain energy policy

McCain reveals the heart of his energy policy: McCain was more gung-ho about nuclear power and expanded domestic drilling for oil and natural gas. When a donor in Richmond summed up his advice as, “nuclear, and drill wherever we’ve got it,” McCain responded: “You just gave my speech. Thank you, my friend.”